Ala Moana Bowls Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about Ala Moana Bowls for the next 16 days. The water’s at 81°F – pretty much average for this time of year, so no drama.

Right now, Wednesday the 9th is a quiet start. Morning has a small 3ft swell out of the SSW, but the wind is cross and it’s only marginal. Afternoon cleans up a bit with a light NE breeze going cross-off, but the swell stays small. The energy is moderate (543), so there’s a little push, but nothing special.

Thursday the 10th brings a bump in size – 5ft in the morning and 5ft in the afternoon – but it’s short-period stuff out of the ENE, only 7 seconds. Choppy and messy. The wind is up, 12 to 19 mph cross-off, so it’s clean but not quality. The energy is moderate (514-528), but it’s poor.

Friday the 11th through Monday the 14th is a real flat spell. Swell drops to 2ft or less, with periods all over the place – some long-period 15-16 seconds from the SW, but just not enough height. The energy drops to weak (121-288). The wind is moderate and cross-off, but there’s no surf to speak of. A few days of nothing.

Alright, here’s the first standout. Tuesday the 15th – that’s the best window in the whole outlook. The morning has 2ft of SW groundswell with a long 20-second period, and the energy is moderate (412). The wind is light ENE at 3 mph, cross-off. Then the afternoon goes glassy – a light N breeze at 3 mph, and the swell holds at 2ft from the same SW direction. That’s rare. Clean, glassy conditions with a long-period groundswell; this will be perfect for the reef at Ala Moana Bowls, with proper shape and long waits between sets. It’s a fairly consistent break, but expect crowds to be often – this spot is popular for a reason.

The rest of the second week is a bit of a letdown. From Wednesday the 16th onward, the swell stays around 3ft to 3ft, but the wind cranks up – 19 to 22 mph from the ENE, cross-off but fresh. The energy gets strong (up to 1089 on the 17th), but the quality is marginal at best. The period is decent (16-17 seconds) from the SSW, but with that wind, it’s going to be bumpy and hard work. By the 19th and 20th, the swell mixes in some short-period E windswell, and it’s just not clean. The 21st through the 24th is mostly poor surf with weak energy, not worth chasing.

So, if you’ve got a window, Tuesday the 15th is the day – glassy conditions, long-period groundswell, clean lines. The rest of the run is either flat, windy, or just average. For the advanced crew, the bigger days later in the second week might have some punch, but the wind will be your enemy.

Rusty.

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